MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCATES REGROUP AFTER GUN BILL STALLS – Gun legislation was supposed to be the way mental health advocates got through major reforms after the Newtown school shooting, but it’s looking like they’re going to need a Plan B. With the gun bill stalled, advocates are in search of another legislative vehicle, and the good news for them is they have a few things working in their favor. Pretty much everyone agrees the recent mass shootings have highlighted inadequacies in the mental health care system. And if Congress still can’t come to an agreement on guns, that could push lawmakers to move faster on mental health reforms to show constituents they at least did something to address gun violence.

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--Even if lawmakers don’t act, there will be some movement on mental health in the coming months when the administration issues long-awaited rules on mental health parity and Obamacare coverage expands. Still, the disparity in mental health services will again be underscored by the states that don’t expand Medicaid, leaving a high-needs population without coverage. The POLITICO story: http://politi.co/11v0VHU

Happy Monday and welcome to PULSE, where we think that Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz offered the perfect sentiment during this weekend’s ceremony at Fenway Park. And we’re glad that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski agrees: http://politi.co/11UGFjX

“She's just the girl for me and I want all the PULSE to see we’ve met”

TODAY ON POLITICO PRO:

--STATE WEEK: LEGISLATURES KEEP THINGS INTERESTING – State lawmakers around the country are proving you just can’t predict what path states are going to take toward or away from the Medicaid expansion. A last-minute effort in Montana to support an Arkansas-style expansion has likely been defeated, while Ohio Medicaid advocates see new reason for hope — even after the House budget removed Republican Gov. John Kasich’s expansion plan. http://politico.pro/ZHwL2c

KEY SENATORS OUTLINE DRUG-TRACKING PLAN — A bipartisan group of key senators Friday night offered up an outline of a bill that would establish a national system for tracking drugs, replacing a patchwork of laws that vary by state. The discussion draft — released by Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who lead the HELP Committee — marks the Senate’s first major attempt to tackle the problem after failing to reach an agreement during last year’s FDA user fee reauthorization. The plan, which also has support from Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.), strengthens licensing requirements and requires the FDA to keep a database of wholesale distributors. It also requires everyone involved in the entire drug supply chain to provide transaction information when there’s an ownership change. The discussion draft: http://1.usa.gov/11pdVyF

--ALSO COMING SOON – The HELP Committee also teased that it will release draft legislation this week dealing with safety issues at compounding pharmacies, another hot-button issue after last year’s deadly meningitis outbreak was traced to a facility in Massachusetts.

IMMIGRATION BILL A QUICK FIX FOR DOC SHORTAGE? – The Senate’s immigration bill is supposed to make it easier for foreign physicians to stay in the U.S. after coming here for their medical residencies. It comes with one important caveat, though: The physicians stay three years and work in underserved areas. But there are concerns the policy could wind up making it harder for those doctors to become U.S. residents, depending on the type of visa they have and where they work. Critics also question whether the bill could actually reverse the pressures of physician shortages, just as the demand for care will be tested by the ACA’s coverage expansion. The POLITICO story: http://politi.co/17RwksS

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WHITE HOUSE MAKES MENTAL HEALTH MOVE ON GUNS – While gun legislation has stalled in the Senate, the White House on Friday signaled it’s ready to take regulatory action to make sure gun background checks have proper access to mental health records. HHS is now asking for feedback on possible changes to the HIPAA privacy rule after some states raised concerns that the rule could be a barrier to reporting to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, the database used in gun purchases. Late Friday afternoon, HHS issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking that notes a 2012 GAO report found one-third of the states had submitted to NICS fewer than 10 records of individuals banned from owning guns for mental health reasons. The administration says this measure is one of 23 that President Barack Obama is taking in response to the Newtown shooting. The notice: http://1.usa.gov/13HNqtx

KEY HEALTH CARE VOTES THIS WEEK — The Senate Finance Committee will vote Tuesday on Marilyn Tavenner’s nomination to lead CMS, and it’s expected that the acting administrator will pass that test pretty easily. On Wednesday, though, things might not be so easy when the House is scheduled to vote on H.R. 1549, a bill taking $4 billion out of the ACA’s prevention fund to beef up funding for the law’s pre-existing condition pools. A couple of high-profile conservative groups have already come out against the GOP bill, so the vote will be pretty interesting to watch.

BOSTON BOMB VICTIM HAD HEALTH COVERAGE – A high-profile campaign was launched last week to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for a man who lost both his legs in the Boston Marathon bombing — prompting his employer, Costco, to clarify on Twitter that the company provided him with health coverage. Jeff Bauman has been hailed as a hero after Bloomberg reported his tip from an ICU bed may have helped authorities pinpoint the bombing suspects. Other reports, including one from POLITICO on Friday, picked up a relative’s comment that Bauman, 27, didn’t have health insurance. Local fundraisers and an online campaign have raised more than a half-million dollars in just days to cover Bauman’s costly recovery. The POLITICO story: http://politi.co/ZHJ8dS

HAPPENING TODAY – Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe this morning is scheduled to sign the bill expanding Medicaid through private coverage on the state’s health insurance exchange. … The American Medical Association announces its new Improving Health Outcomes initiative, aimed preventing and treating the worst and most expensive medical conditions. … The Brookings Institution hosts an expert panel on reforming Medicare at 2:30 p.m. http://bit.ly/13mIt5E. … The BIO International Convention in Chicago kicks off today: http://bit.ly/YgIT

HAPPENING THIS WEEK — The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute on Tuesday announces a new funding initiative for national research data networks: http://bit.ly/10c934n. … CCIIO Director Gary Cohen testifies Wednesday before the House Energy and Commerce oversight subcommittee. … HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifies before the House Appropriations Labor-HHS subcommittee on Thursday. … A House Appropriations subcommittee will hear testimony from FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg on Friday.

SENATORS WANT AHA SUPPORT FOR MASS. BILL – A bipartisan Senate duo is asking for the American Hospital Association to support their bill undoing an ACA provision that critics say allows Massachusetts hospitals to benefit from extra Medicare dollars at the expense of other states. Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) are sending the letter to the AHA today in advance of the group’s membership meeting next week. In the senators’ letter, they note their measure received a 68-31 vote in last month’s budget “vote-a-rama.” Their letter: http://politico.pro/11u4tKB

PAPAS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING – After three years of serving as the White House spokesman on health care, Nick Papas has left to join the press team for Airbnb. “I will always be proud to have played a small role in our work to make health care better for everyone,” Papas wrote in his farewell email Friday afternoon.

WHAT WE’RE READING

The Greenberg Traurig law firm, under investigation by Sen. Chuck Grassley over its connection to a possible leak of Medicare rates, won’t work with so-called political intelligence firms anymore, Bloomberg reports. http://bloom.bg/107XNyG

Boston nurses who treated victims of the Boston Marathon bombing recount the tragic day for The Associated Press. http://yhoo.it/13I6LLi

Oklahoma officials, searching for a Medicaid expansion alternative, don’t think any potential plan would be ready for this year, the AP reports. http://bit.ly/ZH0Gru

The Kaiser Family Foundation’s Drew Altman and Larry Levitt write in The Washington Post that the problem of rising health care costs is far from solved. http://wapo.st/12yKD3b

Louisiana lawmakers on Wednesday will get a chance to vote on the Medicaid expansion strongly opposed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, WDSU reports. http://bit.ly/17R10KS

It’s not necessarily high times for professional growers of medicinal marijuana, who are finding that trying to turn a profit in the business is harder than expected, The Wall Street Journal reports. http://on.wsj.com/17aTEjQ

** A message from PhRMA: PhRMA and America's biopharmaceutical research companies are committed to developing tomorrow's treatments and cures for a wide range of diseases, including leukemia, lymphoma and other blood cancers. New medicines are an integral part of the healthcare system, providing doctors and their patients with safe and effective treatment options that enable patients to live longer, healthier, more productive lives. **

** A message from PhRMA: Diabetes is a complex disease affecting more than 30 million Americans – with one-in-ten living in DC, Maryland and Virginia having the disease. Thanks to advances in diabetes care, patients around the country are living longer, healthier lives. Take five-year-old Rhys for example [link to his I’m Not Average profile]. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 15-months-old, but today, he is a thriving young boy. This is due in large part to new and innovative medicines developed by researchers and scientists at America’s biopharmaceutical companies. Learn more about the medicines in development for diabetes here. **

Authors:

About The Author

Jason Millman is POLITICO Pro’s associate health care editor. He’s on his second tour of duty at POLITICO after a stint at the Washington Post’s Wonkblog and has covered health care since graduating from Boston University with a journalism degree in 2008.